Museo Soumaya, Riddled with non-disclosed Forgeries

J. Paul Getty Museum, under their Getty Research, defines -counterfeit- as: "forgeries (derivative objects)" with a note stating: "Reproductions of whole objects when the intention is to deceive; includes sculptures cast without the artist's permission."[FN 1]

Emile-Antoine Bourdelle (d 1929) was dead when Valsuani, Susse and Godard foundries posthumously cast his work in bronze, Honore Daumier & Edgar Degas never cast in bronze (much less brass), Michelangelo was 368 years dead in 1932 when his work was reproduced in plaster and subsequently cast in bronze, Renoir was a paralytic who did not sculpt after 1910, and the Georges Rudier, listed as the foundry for many of the Soumaya Museum's so-called Rodin[s] went into business in 1952 some 35 years after Rodin's death in 1917.

The dead don't sculpt.

At best, Carlos Slim was misled into purchasing these non-disclosed forgeries.

This monograph will document these devastating facts versus the Museo Soumaya's collection of non-disclosed forgeries.

MICHELANGELO?
The above photograph of "Pieta," in bronze and attributed to Michelangelo Buonarroti in the Museo Soumaya, was published in the Noticias Merida's March 2, 2011 "Presidente Calderon y Carlos Slim inauguran el Museo Soumaya"[FN 2] article. In part, as translated by Free Translation from Spanish to English, the article states: "The night on Tuesday March 1, 2011, the President Felipe Cauldron Hinojosa headed the ceremony of inauguration of the Museum Soumaya, located in the Plaza Carso of Mexico City, in a modern building that will receive the collection of most important private art of the country and of Latin America, as reports the press room of the Presidency of the Republic."[FN 3]

Michelangelo Buonarroti carved his original sculpture, titled "Pieta," in marble in 1498-99, not cast in bronze.

Yet, in a El Pais Semanal's published July 15, 2007 "Carlos Slim, The Second Richest Man in the World" article and interview with Carlos Slim by Francese Relea, the reporter wrote: "In this marble stairs and walls building is a replica of "La Pieta" of Michael Angelo that has the blessing from the Vatican and the Certification of the Buonarroti House."[FN 4]

On page 350 of the 1991 HarperCollins Dictionary of Art Terms & Techniques by Ralph Mayer, -replica- is defined as: "an exact copy or duplicate of a work, done in the same size and in the same medium, and done by the artist who created the original (or, sometimes done under the artist's direct supervision)."[FN 5]

On The Michelangelo Experience website, it states: "Provenance of The Pieta (Michelangelo Buonarroti),"[FN 6] in their collection, is listed as follows:

"Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarotti Simoni, (Florence 1475 – 1564 Rome), Pietà, Bronze, brown patina, Height x width: 65 x 76.75 inches, Signed in the cast: MICHAEL.ÅGELVS. BONAROTVS.FLORENT.FACIEBA[T]., Edition: No. 4 of an edition of 12 bronzes cast in 1982. The original plaster prototype is a precise cast of Michelangelo’s original marble statue in St. Peter’s, Rome. The prototype was made in 1932 by the Fonderia Marinelli with the authorization of the Vatican."

In 1932, much less in 1982, Michelangelo Buonarroit (1475-1564) was over 368 years dead.

The dead don't replica.

On page 1386 of the Seventh Edition of Black's Law Dictionary, -sign- is defined as: "To identify (a record) by means of a signature."[FN 7]

On page 1387 of the Seventh Edition of Black's Law Dictionary, -signature- is defined as: "A person's name or mark written by that person or at the person's direction."[FN 8]

In 1982, Michelangelo Buonarroit (1475-1564) was over 368 years dead.

The dead don't sign.

On page 350 of the 1991 HarperCollins Dictionary of Art Terms & Techniques by Ralph Mayer, -reproduction- is defined as: "a general term for any copy - of an original work of art -, done in the same medium as the original or in another, and done by someone other than the creator of the original."[FN 9]

Therefore, the Fonderia Marinelli workers' 1932 reproduction, with their fingerprints in their plaster reproduction of Michelangelo Buonarroti's marble Pieta, would by definition be a reproduction. The subsequent bronze casts, from the Fonderia Marinelli workers' posthumous (1932) plaster reproduction, with the posthumously inscribed counterfeit Michelangelo signature, would be forgeries.

On page 661 of the Seventh Edition of Black's Law Dictionary, -forgery- is defined as: "The act of fraudulently making a false document or altering a real one to be used as if genuine."[FN 10]

Rhetorically, would inscribing Michelangelo Buonarroti's name (albeit in Italian) to a 2nd-generation-removed bronze forgery be the "act of fraudulently making a false document or altering a real one to used as if genuine?"

Remember, the bronzes are not, by definition, reproduction of anything Michelangelo Buonarroit created, but 2nd-generation-removed forgeries from a posthumous (1932) plaster reproduction by the Fonderia Marinelli workers.

As noted earlier, J. Paul Getty Museum, under their Getty Research, defines -counterfeit- as: "forgeries (derivative objects)" with a note stating: "Reproductions of whole objects when the intention is to deceive; includes sculptures cast without the artist's permission."[FN 11]

Once again, in 1932, much less in 1982, Michelangelo Buonarroit (1475-1564) was over 368 years dead.

The dead don't give permission.

BOURDELLE?
On page 124 of Pierre Kjellberg’s 1994 Bronzes OF THE 19TH CENTURY, Dictionary of Sculptors, the author wrote after the death of Emile-Antoine Bourdelle ”his studio and the works it contained were futilely offered to the State by his widow for about twenty years. The donation was finally accepted by the city of Paris, which opened the museum in 1949. A contract was then signed with Mme Bourdelle and her daughter, Mme Dufet-Bourdelle (today curator of the museum), stipulating that each of the sculptures could be cast in ten bronze copies, by two artists who would be selected through a competition. Works which had already been made, as could be determined by a general inventory, were exempt from this contract. Produced by different founders - Susse, Godard, Valsuani, Hohwiller, the Coubertin Foundation, Clementi, etc., the proofs thus obtained were numbered and carry the note 'Copyright by Bourdelle.' A number of them also carry a stylized star, the artist's monogram made of an A and a B reversed."[FN 12]

This factual perspective is confirmed on page 253 of Pierre Kjellberg’s 1994 Bronzes OF THE 19TH CENTURY, Dictionary of Sculptors, where the author wrote Honore Daumier's "sculpted work is better known thanks to the bronzes" but “he never saw them, and no doubt never anticipated them.”[FN 13]

All so-called bronzes attributed to Honore Daumier (d 1879) were posthumously cast between 1891 and the 1960's.

This is additionally confirmed in a National Gallery of Art's "2000 biographie of Honoré Daumier" by Suzanne Glover Lindsay, where the author wrote: "The many posthumous campaigns to serialize Daumier's sculpture, which lasted well into the 1960s, have provided a subtly altered view of that aspect of his work."[FN 14]

DEGAS?
It is amazing how many in the museum/academic world, much less the huge majority of the public does not have a clue that Edgar Degas never cast his sculptures in bronze (much less brass) and expressly did not want his sculptures cast into bronze.

This widespread misconception is addressed in a College Art Association’s published spring 1995 “art journal,” in a Degas Bronzes? article by Roger J. Crum. On page 95, the author wrote: “In Wilken’s essay we read that in 1921 Francois Thiebault-Sisson recalled that Degas had once said: I modeled animals and people in wax for my own satisfaction, not to take to rest from painting or drawing, but to give more expression, more spirit, and more life to my paintings and drawings. They are exercises to get me started. My sculptures will never give that impression of completion that is the ultimate goal of the statue-maker’s trade and since, after all, no one will ever see these efforts, no one should think of speaking about them, not even you. After my death all that will fall apart by itself, and that will be better for my reputation. (p. 23).”[FN 15]

This is further confirmed in the National Gallery of Art’s published 1998 Degas at the Races catalogue. On page 180 in Daphne S. Barbour’s and Shelly G. Strum’s “The Horse in Wax and Bronze” essay, these authors wrote: “Degas never cast his sculpture in bronze, claiming that it was a “tremendous responsibility to leave anything behind in bronze -- the medium is for eternity.”[FN 16]

All bronzes, falsely attributed to a dead Edgar Degas, may actually be made of brass according to the National Gallery of Art’s published 2010 Edgar Degas Sculpture catalogue.

“Brass is the term used for alloys of copper and zinc in a solid solution. Typically it is more than 50% copper and from 5 to 20% zinc, in comparison to bronze which is principally an alloy of copper and tin.”[FN 17]

This metallurgical discovery is confirmed on page 26 of the National Gallery of Art’s published 2010 Edgar Degas Sculptures catalogue, in the “Degas’ Bronzes Analyzed” essay by Shelly G. Sturman and Daphne S. Barbour. In part, the authors wrote: “Analysis of the elemental surface composition of the National Gallery sculptures was performed using X R F, a noninvasive technique. An alloy of copper and zinc with low to medium tin and traces of lead was used to cast all the sculptures. Results were also compared to X R F analysis undertaken at the Norton Simon Museum on the bronze modeles and at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on some of the serial A set as well. - Bronze is a misnomer for these sculptures, because they are all cast from brass (copper and zince with tin). But as they are universally referred to as “Degas bronzes,” we will continue to use that term in a nontechnical sense throughout this discussion.”[FN 18]

On page 1015 of the Seventh Edition of Black’s Law Dictionary, -misnomer- is defined as: “A mistake in naming a person, place of thing, esp. in a legal instrument.”[FN 19]

Unfortunately, the National Gallery of Art, Shelly G. Sturman and Daphne S. Barbour have a plethora of misnomers throughout their essay, not to mention the entire catalogue, one of which is the constant referral to posthumous bronzes, much less in brass attributed to Edgar Degas, as “sculpture.”

The dead don’t sculpt.

The National Gallery of Art, Shelly G. Sturman and Daphne S. Barbour would seem to believe and are acting on that belief the practice of perpetuating mistakes, with or without intent, is just a misnomer.

RENOIR?
On page 10 of the Paul Haesaerts’ 1947 Renoir Sculptor biography, the author wrote: “With the exception of a very few earlier attempts, Renoir devoted himself to sculpture on the eve and at the beginning of the war of 1914-1918, in other words between his seventy-third and seventy-fifth years. At the time he was not only an old man but a helpless paralytic. He was carried from his bed (where often enough he needed a cage to keep the bedclothes from touching his aching limbs) either in a sedan chair or in a wheelchair. His body was almost mummified. Not only was he deprived of the use of his legs, but his hands were stiffened and shrived. To allow him to paint, a brush was fixed between his rigidly curled fingers; thenceforth the work was done by arm movements, not by those of the hand and fingers.”[FN 20]

RODIN?
The dates given by the Museo Soumaya for many of their so-called Rodins predate the existence of the foundry that cast them.

The vast majority of Alexis Rudier casts are posthumous (see no. 3 for one obvious example). The Georges Rudier, Godard, Susse and Coubertin foundries all went into business 35 years or more after Auguste Rodin’s death in 1917.

FOUNDRIES
This information below was culled from pages 285-293 in the "Observations on Rodin and His Founders" monograph, by former Musee Rodin curator Monique Laurent, published in the National Gallery of Art's 1981 Rodin Rediscovered catalogue.[FN 21]

The former Musee Rodin curator Monique Laurent documents that Leon Perzinka foundry worked with Auguste Rodin from 1896-1901. The edition of 12 is posthumous French practice dating from the 1950’s or later.

LAW, ETHICS AND THE VISUAL ARTS
On page 816-817 of Kluwer Law International’s published 1998 Law, Ethics and the Visual Arts, Third Edition by John Henry Merryman and Albert E. Elsen wrote about “Counterfeit Art.”[FN 22]

Under the subtitle “Truth,” the authors wrote: “The most serious harm that good counterfeits do is to confuse and misdirect the search for valid learning. The counterfeit objects falsifies history and misdirects inquiry.”[FN 23]

Additionally, under the subtitle “Resource Allocation,” the authors wrote: “Museum and art historical resources are always limited. What gets acquired, displayed, conserved and studied is the result of a continuous process of triage, in which some objects can be favoured only at the expenses of others. Counterfeit objects distort the process.”[FN 24]

Finally, under the subtitle “Fraud,” the authors wrote: “There remains the most obvious harm of all: counterfeit cultural objects are instruments of fraud. Most are created in order to deceive and defraud, but even “innocent” counterfeits can, and often will, be so used. The same considerations of justice and social order that make deliberate fraud of others kinds criminal apply equally to fraud through the medium of counterfeit art...”[FN 25]

CONCLUSION
What needs to be accomplished is the full and honest disclosure of all reproductions as -reproductions- by all museums, auction houses and art dealers. If the Museo Soumaya will give full and honest disclosure for all reproductions as: -reproductions- it would allow museum patrons to give informed consent on whether they wish to attend an exhibit of reproductions, much less pay the price of admission.

But if these objects are not reproductions by definition and law, but -forgeries- with or without counterfeit signatures or inscriptions applied, much less posthumous, to create the illusion the artist created it, much less approved and signed it, then serious consequences of law may come into play for those who chose to misrepresent these -forgeries- for profit.

The reputations and legacy of living and past artists, present and future museum art patrons and the art-buying public deserve the re-establishment of the obvious; that the living presence and participation of the artist to once again be required, as it always should have been, to create the piece of art attributable to the artist if indeed it is attributed to them, much less purported to have been signed by them.

Brass is the term used for alloys of copper and zinc in a solid solution. Typically it is more than 50% copper and from 5 to 20% zinc, in comparison to bronze which is principally an alloy of copper and tin. Despite this distinction, some types of brasses are called bronzes.

Brass has a yellow colour, somewhat similar to gold. It is relatively resistant to tarnishing, and is often used as decoration.

Brass has been known to man since prehistoric times, long before zinc itself was discovered. It was produced by melting copper together with calamine, a zinc ore. During this process, the zinc is extracted from the calamine and instantly mixes with the copper. Pure zinc, on the other hand, is too reactive to have been produced by ancient metalworking techniques.

Bronze refers to a broad range of copper alloys, usually with tin as the main additive, but sometimes with other elements such as phosphorus, manganese, aluminum, or silicon. It is strong and tough, and has myriad uses in industry.

When steel is excluded from the discussion, bronze is superior to iron in nearly every application. While it develops a patina, it does not oxidize. It is considerably less brittle than iron and has a lower casting temperature. (Steel, of course, has properties with which bronze cannot compete.)

Copper-based alloys have lower melting points than steel and are more readily produced from their constituent metals. They are generally about 10 percent heavier than steel, although alloys using aluminium or silicon may be slightly less dense. Bronzes are softer and weaker than steel, Bronze springs are less stiff (and so store less energy) for the same bulk. It resists corrosion (especially seawater corrosion) and metal fatigue better than steel and also conducts heat and electricity better than most steels. The cost of copper-base alloys is generally higher than that of steels but lower than that of nickel-base alloys.

Copper and its alloys have a huge variety of uses that reflect their versatile physical, mechanical, and chemical properties. Some common examples are the high electrical conductivity of pure copper, the excellent deep-drawing qualities of cartridge case brass, the low-friction properties of bearing bronze, the resonant qualities of bell bronze, and the resistance to corrosion by sea water of several bronze alloys.

Bronze is the most popular metal for top-quality bells and cymbals, and more recently, saxophones. It is also widely used for cast metal sculpture. Common bronze alloys often have the unusual and very desirable property of expanding slightly just before they set, thus filling in the finest details of a mould.

Bronze also has very little metal-on-metal friction, which made it invaluable for the building of cannons where iron cannonballs would otherwise stick in the barrel. It is still widely used today for springs, bearings, bushings and similar fittings, and is particularly common in the bearings of small electric motors. Phosphor bronze is particularly suited to precision-grade bearings and springs.

Bronze is typically 60% copper and 40% tin. Alpha bronze consists of the alpha solid solution of tin in copper. Alpha bronze alloys of 4-5% tin are used to make coins, springs, turbines and blades.

Commercial bronze (otherwise known as brass) is 90% copper and 10% zinc, and contains no tin. It is stronger than copper and it has equivalent ductility. It is used for screws and wires.

Bronze vs. Brass

1. Bronze is the familiar brownish color whereas brass is the more greyish greenish, bluish. Both will weather to the fine verdigris patina without maintenance.

2. They differ in the amont of metals used in the amalgam. Brass is a combination of copper and zinc while brass is a combination of copper and tin.

3. Bronze items are four times more expensive than brass.

4. Bronze is much stronger and more corrosion resistant than brass.

5. Bronze is harder and more abrasion resistant than brass

6. As brass deteriorates, it creates an oxide (a grey white powder - zinc oxide). Zinc oxide is acetic and will attack the lignum in wood. Once the lignum is gone the wood fiber is open to rot

7. Brass melts at lower temperature and therefore use less energy to melt. It machines and polishes much easier than Bronze and therefore the price to make a fitting from it is lower. Also, it goes away much more quickly and therefore the customer will have to purchase replacement parts much sooner.

8. Bronze is richer, more golden in color than brass which is usually a yellow color. If there is any doubt in your mind, try an easy test. Using the smallest drill bit that you have, drill a small hole in an unimportant area of the fitting and look at the metal turnings that come out. If they are long and stringy, the fittings are probably Bronze. If the turnings are small (like snow flakes), then the metal is probably brass and even more probably a leaded brass.

2 Comments:

Hi Gary, I found your blogsite from the link provided on NPR comments re the new Soumaya museum in Mexico City. I find your extensive research fascinating, shocking, disappointing(in the museum's creator), and of great interest, enough that I have sent it the story & comments link to several artists, curators, art collectors and even documentary filmmakers. Thanks for opening my eyes. I have worked on films in Mexico City and plan to return to the city this summer, specifically to see this new museum. I do like the building's exterior design and plan to buy some scale models of it, figuring that the gift shop there offers them is white marble, brass, bronze, copper and other metals...(pun). Best wishes, Hunter Mann, filmworker since 1993.